Coming home...

July 1, 2010: Madang, Papua New Guinea:  Why do we leave the comforts and safety of our home to go to a far away place; to people that we do not know; at tremendous expense to ourselves and to others? This morning I was roused from sleep just prior to sunrise and captured this photo, just hours before we leave Papua New Guinea. We have come to love and to serve and to be an example, a beacon of light (Matthew 5:13-16) to a people whose lives and hardships are legions greater than our own. Yet as I walked along the ocean this morning, I can’t forget my own humanity and where I have come from (Titus 3:3-8). Thank you for being part of our team!

Dr. Maggi

If all I did when I came to serve on medical missions is to work, then there would be little difference between the work that I do and the work that a medical relief physician provides. One of my greatest joys in working with World Medical Missions (Samaritan’s Purse International Relief) is having the opportunity to teach national physicians. At Kudjip Nazarene Hospital I had the opportunity to work daily with Dr. Maggi Taune, a PNG national surgeon who will be working at a hospital in an extremely remote region in the mountains of PNG. The only contact with the outside world that she will have is by short wave radio. They have intermittent electricity. She will be the only physician at the hospital. The conditions that she will work in are unimaginable in the sense that she will have little to work with and little trained help. She will have a five year commitment at the hospital. I was glad to be able have so much time in the operating theatre to teach her gynecologic surgery, and also to be able to leave her with some supplies, including an obstetric Doppler, scrubs, 9 volt Duracell batteries for the Doppler and my stethoscope with the scripture verse 1 Peter 2:21 engraved on it.

This photograph is of Dr. Jim (see prior blog entry) and Dr. Maggi on either side of the little girl, Parubi and her mother. Parubi had a depressed skull fracture a few weeks ago. Under the direction of Dr. Jim & Dr. Maggi and a visiting orthopedic surgeon from the U.S., the surgical team was able to release the pressure of a subdural hematoma and then elevate the depressed skull fracture. Parubi’s chance of survival was extremely poor, but by God’s grace she has done extremely well. I took this photograph at her follow up visit.

When we arrived in Papua New Guinea we had 16 pieces of luggage (16 large Rubbermaid Action Packers), and going home we will have a few duffel bags and one Action Packer. It is hard to return home when the need here is so great for the work that we do. The pace of life here is also enviable.

Final Days...

My apologies again for being late in blogging. We have not had internet access for the past five days.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010: The operating theatre staff had a special lunch for our family on our last day at Kudjip Nazarene Hospital. They prepared chicken, pineapple, rice, lettuce and bread and we brought the Crystal Light. They posted a big sign on the door to the Central Sterile room that thanked us for coming. Since the party was back inside the operating theatre, everyone had to put on surgical garb, including our daughters Anna and Amber. Although this photo is slightly out of focus, here is Amber administering anesthesia to her twin sister, Anna.

In just under 30 days I performed or assisted on 49 major surgeries, not including minor procedures or deliveries. One of the last surgeries was to wire the jaw of this man who had been beaten up quite badly. His jaw was broken in two places. His jaw will be wired closed for six weeks, during which time he will have to be on a liquid diet. Hmmm…a liquid diet in a third world country. There just are not very many options for a liquid diet here, and most people could not afford the few options that exist. I think it is best to avoid fighting in the first place!
On our final evening at Kudjip, the entire compound gathered in the living room of the Barnabas House (the volunteer house) for a time of singing, prayer and eating popcorn. The last people didn’t leave until 11 PM as it was so hard to say good-bye to everyone.

The final few days here in Papua New Guinea are being spent on the north coast with Dr. Scott & Gail Dooley and their three daughters, Allison, Emma and Olivia. When they had visited us in Arizona we took them to the Grand Canyon, and they wanted to reciprocate by taking us to Madang. We are spending a few days snorkeling, swimming in the ocean and swimming pools, and relaxing. I’m glad that we have some time to re-group prior to the flights back to Australia and to the U.S. This photo is of our oldest son, Michael, jumping off of a cliff into the ocean. It was about a 30 foot jump off of a lava cliff. I’ll admit that I was a chicken and opted to take the photos rather than to jump myself.
Thank you all so much for following my blog. My prayer is that the people here in Papua New Guinea have been blessed with our presence as much as we have been blessed with the opportunity to come here to serve them.  I hope to have one more blog entry this week, but access to the internet has been difficult. Blessings to all!

It's still raining...

     Three weeks without a drop of rain.  Things were looking so bleak that even the hospital had to hire this truck to come to fill the tank outside of the operating theatre so that we could have running water in the operating room.  Even then we only had water trickling out of the faucet where we were washing our hands for surgery. 

     Then last night while we were getting ready to eat dinner, huge black thunderclouds moved in.  There was an enormous double rainbow for a few minutes, and then it started to rain, and rain, and rain.  The power went out for awhile.  We were so grateful to finally have some water to fill our tanks from the runoff from our roof.  That means we can bathe and do some laundry today! This is what the rain looked like pouring off of our porch.  The sky had become so dark that it was as if it were already night time.  I honestly don't think I have ever taken a picture of rain before!
     Today had been another busy day of taking care of so many patients.  I was particularly discouraged by trying to resect a cervical cancer, but the cancer involved the bladder and ureters and I was unable to complete the surgery.  At the moment there is no radiation therapy in the entire country.  I called Dr. Jim Radcliffe into the operating theatre to have hiim look, and he confirmed that we had gone as far as we could, and so I had to stop the surgery, leaving the cancerous cervix inside. 

     On the way home down the path to our house today, this little child was sitting inside a discarded piece of concrete pipe.  It was a nice place to hide from the afternoon sun (just prior to the approaching rain clouds arriving.)  It was just the perfect size for him to put his legs up and relax.

I'm singing in the rain...

Wednesday, June 23, 2010: It’s 3 AM & it’s raining! IT’S RAINING! After three weeks and hardly a drop of rain, now it’s raining! I woke up not because it was raining but because the telephone rang and it was the wrong number. Then a nanosecond later the phone rang again to confirm that the person had the wrong number. Then I heard the sound of rain hitting our roof. I have never been so excited to hear the sound of rain. You see, the primary source of water for us to drink, bathe, do laundry, do surgery…is the RAIN that lands on the roof of all of the buildings and goes into gutters into huge storage cisterns.


Did your mother ever tell you, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all.”? Yesterday was sort of like that, except that it was, “If you didn’t take any photographs that you could post on your blog, then best not to post any of your pictures.” So, I posted a picture of my wonderful family instead. You see, all we did yesterday was to do surgeries; one after another, for cancer (3), infection (2) and tuberculosis (2). You know you are in a third world country when your list of possible diseases is a list that most doctors have not heard about since medical school. One of the patients that I operated on yesterday has a differential diagnosis list of: tuberculous vulvitis, lymphogranuloma venerum (LGV), Donovanosis (granuloma inguinale), vulvar carcinoma, condyloma accuminata, hidradenitis suppuritivum. I suspect you now have a sense of why I couldn’t post a photo!

The high point of the day was dinner with our family being invited to the home of Jeff & Susan Myers. They made homemade Mexican food and it tasted soooooo good! Top that off with a homemade éclair cake and there just isn’t a better way to end the day: wonderful friends, fellowship and food!

Christmas in June

Monday, June 21, 2010:  Four times a year, Dr. Todd Winter with the Nazarene Hospital Foundation, sends a railroad sized container full of supplies for the hospital.  This one arrived today after being held in the port city for a month due to paperwork issues.  We were so excited to receive the container, because it contained items that we had included for the hospital and for the volunteer house, called the Barnabas House, which is the house where we are staying.  The photo is of our son, Andrew, helping out.  He was one of the first to come to help out.  Here he is demonstrating how to throw a box of supplies to the staff standing down below who were loading the supplies onto the back of a truck to go to the pharmacy.  (I hope that box wasn't labelled "fragile"!)  I had just finished two surgeries when the container arrived, and spent an hour helping out everyone to unload the container.
     Back at the hospital I noticed three men with their heads turned toward the entrance to the emergency room.  They were looking intently, and not speaking.  Then I heard some commotion, so I went around into the emergency room.  A five year old little naked lifeless boy had just been brought into the ER in the arms of his distraught father.  All of the staff in the tiny emergency room went to work to save this little boy's life.  His body was still warm, but he did not have a heart beat.  We quickly secured an airway and I started chest compressions.  After a few minutes, Dr. Jim came around the corner and began to help.  We never did get a pulse, and the family told us that he had stopped breathing about 15 minutes before they had arrived at the hospital.  The child's pupils were fixed and dilated.  It was just too late.  Dr. Jim went over to the family and explained that their son was gone and immediately started praying for the family.  The person who appeared to be the boys' grandmother was prostrate on the floor wailing.  The entire family started weeping, crying and wailing.  It was such a sad moment.  Then just a few minutes later I was off to drain a hematoma.  Life is so fragile here.  There is so much work to be done.

Thoughts for this week...

Sunday, June 20, 2010: Early in the week Dr. Scott Dooley asked me if I wanted to preach at a bush church today. My initial gut reaction was to decline, but I told him I would think about it. After a day or two of contemplating the commitment, I decided to take him up on it. Several months ago our associate pastor at church, Dan Gavaza, had referenced 1 Peter 2:21: “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps.” Later he told me that this was the verse that Pastor Henry Maxwell had preached his famous sermon in the 1800’s on in his church in Richmond, Illinois. The impact of that sermon led to the eventual publication of the book, In His Steps, by Charles Sheldon. Maxwell’s sermon and Sheldon’s book created the “What Would Jesus Do?” movement that has lasted for over 100 years. I had been reading this book for the past few weeks and it seemed appropriate to me to talk about what it means to walk in Jesus’ steps.
     So this morning a group of about 20 of us headed off up the road about a half hour walk to the tiny thatched grass church called Misa Church. I had written my entire message on my computer in English, and then Dr. Dooley helped me to translate the entire message into Melanesian Pidgon so that I could read a few lines in English and then translate it myself into Pidgon. I was certainly outside of my comfort zone, but everything seemed to go well enough. Pastor Ruben hugged me over and over after the service, and I took off my necktie and put it on him; a gesture which made him hug me several times again.

Saturday, June 19, 2010: After making rounds at the hospital this morning we headed off to meet the teenagers at a place referred to as slide rock. All of the teens here (and some slightly older and some slightly younger) were having a mini-retreat this weekend. It was quite the climb up the river gorge to the two areas where you could slide, willingly or unwillingly, on the rocks. Two little naked national boys were absolunte monkeys, running up and then sliding down the rocks. I captured some wonderful video of the entire event.  Here is Anna totally out of control on a vertical part of the river.

Friday, June 18, 2010: This morning Dr. Susan Myer’s, the pediatrician here, was making rounds with me when the midwife came in to tell us that a patient had come into the labor ward in labor and was seizing. The photo is of the woman after we had given her intramuscular magnesium sulfate, intravenous dilantin, and secured her airway with an oral airway and nasal prong oxygen. I almost hate to admit that the tape job is my own, but this was my only option to secure an airway. As soon as she was stable I delivered the baby with a vacuum device. The nurses were all pleased that I did not have to do a cesarean section. Fortunately the rest of the day was fairly unremarkable, ending with a nice quiet dinner with Dr. Scott and Gail Dooley. The Dooley girls, Emma, Allison and Olivia had invited our Anna and Amber to spend the night at their house for a sleep-over. It made for a very quiet evening at our house!

Random Thoughts for the Week...

Thursday, June 17, 2010: One of the joys of going on medical mission trips is bringing my children. Here is our oldest son, Michael, in the operating room. Here he is studying the x-ray of a little boy with osteomyelitis (infection of the bone) while Dr. Jim Radcliffe was debriding the leg and treating the infection.

Andrew has yet to come into the operating room, but has been busy painting and doing maintenance projects. Anna and Amber continue to be popular with everyone. Here they are in the arms of Apa. Apa loves them, and I think it is because Apa's own child drowned in a river when he slipped off of a log and fell into the water with her child while walking home one night. They did not find the body of his young son for three days.

Teresa is starting on a new project, creating a computer program for the hospital pharmacy to be able to order medications from the government in a more efficient manner. She has been very busy being the hostess to different families nearly every night.

Here I am in the maternity ward doing an ultrasound. Papua New Guinea has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world. It seems nearly every day when making rounds we hear of another baby that died in the nursery. The welcome manual for visiting physicians has the following to say about this, "The death of babies can be difficult to understand. It is common for a couple to have lost at least one child in infancy, and two or three is not too unusual. There is what I understand to be an attempt to hold the personhood of the child at bay until they have passed the most vulnerable first few weeks of life (for instance, by not naming a child until he or she is several weeks old). PNGers love their children intensely, so it is surprising to see how matter-of-factly they seem to accept the death of a newborn. The demonstrative grieving is not usually done in this situation, but if you watch the eyes of a new mom as you tell her that her baby is dead, you won't have any doubt that the grief is just as real."

Last night a little girl came into the ER with a skull fracture and injuries to her torso after a tree fell on her. She was in a coma. I just learned that she died earlier today.

Dorea, the little girl I wrote about with pigbel, is going home soon. I was able to give her a tootsie-roll lolli-pop yesterday. She had a big smile for me.









Hopefully our internet will stay up. Thank you for following my blog!

Queen's Birthday Holiday Weekend

Saturday, June 12, 2010: Two years ago when we were in Kenya we watched students from the Rift Valley Academy be baptized. We thought at that time that it would be wonderful to have our children baptized in Papua New Guinea. Several months ago our children went through baptism classes at church, and today we took them down to the river that went around the hospital and baptized them in the river. There were dozens of our friends from the hospital, both missionaries and nationals, along with dozens more of onlookers who were already at the river. The hospital staff had done a wonderful job of decorating the spot in the river that we had chosen. They had flowers and branches decorating the area, and had even dammed off a part of the river so that there was a deep, quiet spot in the river. Our dear friend, Dr. Scott Dooley, baptized our children. After the baptism we went up to Dr. Andy Bennett’s house where everyone joined us for a “mumu” or pig-roast to celebrate the baptism.

Sunday, June 13, 2010: This afternoon we took several families up to the surgical ward to visit. The children read some Bible stories to the pediatric patients. Anna and Amber visited Dorea, the little girl from last week that is recovering from Pigbel. She is doing very well. One of the things that I enjoy the most about taking our children on medical mission trips is the opportunity to involve our children in ministry. Whether it be painting a wall or cleaning up debris or visiting patients in the hospital, the impact of these trips on our children is wonderful.

The second photo is of Amber visiting with a little boy who has a femur fracture. The best way to stabilize a femur fracture in a child in a third world country is to put both legs in traction.

Monday, June 14, 2010: Today is a federal holiday in Papua New Guinea. It is the Queen’s Birthday, which oddly is celebrated here in Papua New Guinea but is no longer celebrated in England. After making rounds in the hospital this morning we went up to a mountain top ridge (Rondon Ridge) to have lunch and to look at their orchid gardens. It was beautiful, and we enjoyed a day of rest. Last week had been very busy for us. In one evening we had a patient with a ruptured ectopic pregnancy with a liter of blood in her abdomen and refusing a blood transfusion on religious grounds; a second patient who needed an emergency cesarean section for a frank breech in labor and then a third woman came in who had been kicked in the left flank. She had a very low blood pressure, a lot of blood in her abdomen, and her baby inside her uterus was dead. Our first impression was a ruptured spleen and that proved to be the correct diagnosis. The following morning all three mothers and the breech baby were doing well and were stable. I managed to find some injectable iron in the pharmacy, as the patient with the ectopic pregnancy lost over half of her blood volume.

We have not had internet access for nearly a week now, so I have to catch up on my blogs. I suppose I need to remember that I am in a third world country and that any internet access is a blessing...

Tuesday, June 8, 2010:

One of the hardest things for me to get used to in working in third world countries is facing death with such frequency. In the states when you see an empty bed where the your patient was laying the day before, it usually means that she is out walking or getting some test done. But here in the morning when the bed is empty it often means that the patient died the night before.

This morning when I was making rounds I noticed that the baby I had delivered was not with the mother. (This photo is of another patient and her baby.) I was not that surprised, because the baby had required resuscitation at the time of delivery and had been in the nursery. Sylvia, the ward nurse, then said something that put a pit in my stomach. “Her baby died last night.” The mother’s eyes stared blankly at me. There was no expression on her face. She just looked completely empty. The barriers of culture and language seemed enormous. I asked the nurses to be certain that the chaplain see her today and then I knelt down beside her and prayed for her. It seemed as if the barriers of language and culture melted away as her expression changed and she reached out to thank me for the prayer.

Later in the day in the clinic there was a Chinese lady waiting to be seen. I looked at her chart and noticed that she had a gynecologic problem. There are a few Asian people around here, but not very many that I have seen. As I listened I noticed that she was speaking Mandarin and also a little Melanesian Pidgon. I addressed her in Mandarin and then in Melanesian Pidgon and her face became radiant. Even though my Mandarin vocabulary is smaller than the number of fingers on my hands, this woman was so pleased with my efforts. I concluded the visit by praying for her in English and then saying good-bye in both Chinese and Melanesian Pidgon. As she walked toward the pharmacy to get the medicines I had prescribed her face was beaming with a smile from ear to ear.

A Little Girl Named Dorea

Wednesday, June 9, 2010: If any of you are lacking something to pray about, then please pray for Dorea. This sweet little girl had worsening diffuse abdominal pain and a high spiking fever up to 104 degrees. Her malaria smear returned negative. The diagnosis was pigbel. This photo is of her on the operating room table with a fever of 103 just before we put her to sleep to remove two feet of her small intestine.

Pigbel is a disease that is mostly limited to this island and is a problem related to ingestion of large quantities of undercooked pork. Typically the diet here is low in protein until someone has a “mumu” (which I think of as a luau) where a pig is roasted to celebrate a special occasion. Since there is no refrigeration all of the pig is eaten…and when I say “all of the pig” I mean every single part of the pig. Everyone eats and gorges themselves until everything is eaten. Little children, however, lack the protective enzymes to digest the meat and to kill the bacteria (clostrdia) in the undercooked meat, and then they develop areas of necrotic small bowel. When we opened up Dorea's abdomen we found areas of diseased and dying intestine and removed two feet of her small intestine.

She is such a sweet little girl, but is so horribly sick. To make matters worse, I learned that her mother had left her father and went off with another man and left Dorea in the care of her aunt. Please join me in praying for her; that the surgery and the antibiotics would treat the disease and that her life would be spared.

The irony of all of this is that pigbel is a disease for which there was an immunization available in the past. The immunization cultures had been completed in the past, at great expense, and a very effective vaccine had been developed. This vaccine was used for years in Papua New Guinea and it was believed that the disease was eradicated because the immunization was so effective. Then, as I understand it, the bill was left unpaid for the vaccine for one year. When the government went to order it the following year, the company that manufactures the vaccine insisted that the prior year bill be paid. This created an impasse. Now, several years later with no pigbel vaccine being made, even the initial cultures have gone bad, and not only is the immunization not being made anymore, but now it would be enormously expensive to develop the vaccine again.

It makes me cringe when I speak to people in the United States who are worried about immunizing their children against immunizable diseases. If only they could see the effects of these diseases that are so horrific that someone went through the expense of developing a vaccine. We are so fortunate in the U.S. to have access to affordable immunizations and it is such an irony that we worry about the side effects of the vaccines rather than being grateful for the protection from the diseases which they prevent.

C Ward (Surgical Ward)

Late in the afternoon three missionary families took all of our children up to the hospital with my travel bag filled with Tootsie-Roll Lollipops, beanie babies, and brightly colored rubber balls. In the morning I had made rounds with Dr. Jim on all of these patients. Some are young, some are old, come children, some adults. One woman had a hurricane lamp blow up next to her and over 50% of her body is burned. There are adults and children with broken bones (arms, legs and spines), infections of all kinds, abscesses, osteomyelitis with exposed bone, machete wounds, and amputations of all kinds. Thirty-one patients in all.

This photo is of our daughter Anna and a sweet young woman who is paralyzed from her waist down. She had been left in the care of some other people for a few days while her family traveled somewhere. The temporary caregivers did not care for her appropriately, and she developed huge decubitus ulcers (bed sores). Two days ago, after months of debridement, we closed the decubitus ulcers. She spends her days lying on her abdomen in her bed. Dr. Jim told me that if ever I am feeling sorry for myself to just go visit her in the isolation room.

As we went around the room from bed to bed we brightened the day of everyone there. Our children handed everyone in the room a tootsie-roll lollipop. To the children (and even to some of the adults) they gave beanie babies and colorful toy balls. They even sought out the people in the isolation rooms, the nurses, the security guards and the visitors and made certain that everyone received something. As we left the surgery ward everyone who could smile had a smile on their face with the stick of a lollipop sticking out of their mouth. It was a very sweet memory and one that I will not soon forget. It was a wonderful opportunity to have our children involved in ministry and to touch the lives of hurting people.

Going to the Operating Theatre

This is an all too familiar scene.  The woman on the left is going for a repeat cesarean section, and her friend on the right is acting as her IV pole.  A few minutes later she was in the operating room where Dr. Erin Meier and I performed her surgery.  I had first met Dr. Erin four years ago while at a World Medical Mission (WMM) conference at The Cove (The Billy Graham Training Center) in Asheville, North Carolina.  She was scheduled to go overseas with the post-residency program with WMM, however, she did not know which country she was going to go.  It was at that meeting that she met Dr. Jim Radcliffe (see earlier blog) and a few weeks later felt led to go to Papua New Guinea.  She has been here ever since and has accepted a full time assignment.

Dr. Erin had just returned from a brief visit to New Zealand, so this was the first chance I had to talk with her.  During the surgery we caught up on all that has happened in the last four years.   I also enjoyed the opportunity to share with her some of the techniques for cesarean delivery. 

The surgeries here just seem to become more and more difficult.  The diseases and pathology are worse than anything I see in the states.

We did get some much needed rest over the weekend.  After a week we feel like we have finally made the 17 hour time change!  The morning bell is ringing...it is 7:30 AM on Tuesday morning.  Time to get dressed and head back to the hospital for a day of surgery.

Doctor Jim

On Saturday we had to drive to Mount Hagen to purchase supplies.  Dr. Jim Radcliffe and his wife, Kathy and the resident physician, Dr. Maggi, and me all went together.  Dr. Jim was helping me explain what I needed to the store clerk and then Dr. Jim walked away.  All the people around me started talking in Tok Pisin saying, "That is Dr. Jim from the hospital in Kudjip.  He is a great doctor."  All of them were looking at him with admiration and speaking very highly of him. 

It is no surprise that people would look at him and speak so highly of him.  He truly is one of the most devoted, selfless and skilled physicians I have ever met.  The photograph was taken last week in the clinic when suddenly I heard a trumpet reverberating "Onward Christian Soldiers" through the walls of the brick walled clinic.  The music was coming from inside Dr. Jim's exam room, and I turned the corner to see Dr. Jim playing his trumpet in between patients. 

Jim was in medical school doing a rotation here in PNG in 1979 when he learned that he had matched a general surgery residency program.  At that time he believed that God was calling him to spend his life here.  He graduated from Mount Vernon University from undergraduate and Ohio State Medical School.  He met his wife, Kathy, who is herself a medical dietetics major, while they were at Ohio State.  They were married in 1976 and have lived in Papua New Guinea since 1985.  Kathy has delivered four of her six children (Ben, Rebecca "Becca", Tim, Priscilla "Cilla", Josiah "Joe", and Lydia) here in PNG.  In a few hours we will watch Cilla receive her high school diploma.  She graduated as the valedictorian of her class - although she was the only person in her high school class!

We have come to love Jim and Kathy and their family.  Indeed we feel like we are part of their family, as well as the all of the missionary families here at Kudjip, when we are here and even when we are away.  We cherish their friendship and example of missionary service.

What's Up Doc...

My apologies to anyone reading this post with a weak stomach, but I wanted to share what surgery is like here in PNG.  This photo is of an ovary and those are my hands in the photo.  The amazing thing is that I have removed four ovaries like this in just one week.

Yesterday in the clinic I saw a young woman who had traveled ten hours to see me.  She is a student at a bible college and the government hospital where she lives has closed it's operating room six months ago.  Just a few years ago the government hospital was a thriving 350 bed hospital with subspecialists in nearly every specialty.  Now for the most part the hospital is barely functioning as a clinic.  She too has a large ovarian tumor that I will operate on in a few weeks.  Patients are now traveling enormous distances from what would be considered major cities to come to Kudjip Nazarene Hospital in the Western Highlands of Papua New Guinea just to seek care.  Perhaps those of us in America should take note of what happens to healthcare when the government takes over the healthcare system.

This past week I cared for two women who had ruptured their bag of water prematurely.  There is a balance between risking infection verses the risks of prematurity in making the decision of whether to deliver or to wait.  Both patients delivered this week, and both babies are doing well and are going home with their mamas.  We were so grateful that our prayers were answered.  Life is so much different here, and so fragile. 

My Friend - Peter Dom

Peter Dom lives in the surgical ward.  Peter has lived at the hospital since Sunday, March 15, 1992.  On that Sunday he was attending an Assemblies of God church service when the old church building suddenly collapsed.  Everyone escaped the building without serious injury except for Peter.  An enormous beam had crushed his lower back, leaving him paralyzed from his waist down.  As Peter lay pinned beneath the beam he prayed that he would not die; but that God would spare his life. 

Peter had two daughters at the time, named Dolores and Dolly, who were one and two years of age    when he was injured. 

Ever since that day he has had to live at the hospital because he is limited to being in a wheelchair or in his waterbed that a missionary physician bought for him.  Only the hospital compound is paved, which limits the places he can go.  His "room" is a curtained off corner of the surgical ward. 

Today as I interviewed him, he said that he is so grateful for his life and for his two grown daughters.  He told me that his favorite bible verse is Matthew 5:8 which reads, "Blessed at the pure in heart, for they shall see God."

If you or your children would like to make Peter very happy, then send him a postcard telling him that you know me and tell him about you.  He loves to receive mail.  You can write him at: Peter Dom, c/o Kudjip Nazarene Hospital, P.O. Box 456, Mount Hagen, W.H.P., Papua New Guinea. 

"Inap mi kisim poto bilong yu?"

"Inap mi kisim poto bilong yu?"  or "May I take your picture?"  It seems that no matter where I go in the world that people like to have their picture taken; especially with digital cameras now when I can show them their picture on the back of the camera.  This patient and her husband were no exception to the rule and she was so pleased that I had taken her picture. 

My sons, Michael and Andrew, came home last night covered in paint.  A group of teenagers had started to paint the school yesterday and ended up getting oil based paint in their hair, ears, faces, arms and clothing.  They also learned the hard way about painting in poorly ventilated areas with oil paints!  No harm done, and it was a great way for them to serve others here in Papua New Guinea.

Teresa ventured into the markets of Mount Hagen today with Dr. Andy Bennett's wife, Judy Bennett, along with a watchman to guard their vehicle.  She returned with a few weeks of food for our family.  I was glad when she returned safely with no exciting stories to tell.

Tomorrow I hope to introduce you to my friend, Peter Dom.  He has quite a story about his life, and I was so happy to see that he is still here, as it has been four years since I last saw him. 

The Day That Never Happened

May 30th never happened.  We boarded our plane in Los Angeles late at night on May 29th and then hit the International Date Line flying to Syndey, Australia.  When we arrived it was already May 31.  We were so grateful for empty seats around us so that we could get some sleep. 

Our final flight from Port Moresby to Mount Hagen took us up the coast of Papua New Guinea and then we descended down through thick cloud cover.  As we descended through thick white clouds we finally broke through to see the Wagi River winding its way through the lush green jungle valley to the town of Mount Hagen.  Our old friend, Jeff Myers, was there with two vehices - one for all the weary travelers and one for our 16 Action Packers of checked luggage.  After 21 hours of flying time and over 30 hours since we had left home, we arrived safely at the Barnabas (Guest) House at Kudjip Nazarene Hospital in Papua New Guinea.  As we pulled up we had a welcoming crew of old friends throwing flowers through the windows of the vehicle. 

After a wonderful dinner with Dr. Andy and Judy Bennett we passed out in our beds.

The operating theatre (they don't call it an operating "room" here but rather use the British term) schedule on June 1 was 80% gynecology, so I did four of the five surgeries.  Three of those were for enormous ovarian tumors, the size of volleyballs.  I will spare you the pictures, since I know some of you following this blog would prefer not to see such things. 

Okay, it's 3 AM and jet lag seems to be getting the best of me.  I'm going back to bed to see if I can sleep a little before another busy day. 

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! On May 29, 2010, our family will be flying from Phoenix to Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia, to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea and then to Mount Hagen, Papua New Guinea. We will then be driving another 45 minutes to Kudjip Nazarene Hospital. I just hope that I don’t hear one of our children say “how much longer?” when we are on our first flight to Los Angeles! I anticipate that my blogs from Papua New Guinea will start around June 1, 2010! Thank you for following our blog!